Ball point pens and fountain pens are very popular writing implements. When a ball point pen or a fountain pen is carried by a garment worn by a person, such as in a garment pocket, ink from the tip of the pen can stain the garment. To prevent ink stains, a pen may be provided with a retractable tip (for a ball point pen). Alternatively, a removable cap may be provided to be slid longitudinally over the pen tip and fit by friction to the pen, covering the pen tip when the pen is not in use, such as when the pen is carried in a pocket (for both ball point pens and fountain pens). Customarily, the removable cap can be slid longitudinally over the back end of the pen and be retained by friction between the cap and the back end of the pen when the pen is used for writing.
A recent sampling of the marketplace reveals that ball point pens, having removable, friction-fitting caps that are slid longitudinally over the back ends of the pens, are generally five to six inches in length. When the removable, friction-fitting cap is not being carried by the pen, the length of the barrel of the pen, from just behind the pen tip to the opposite end of the pen is just slightly less in length than the overall length of the pen. Such a conventional barrel length permits the pen to be held in a conventional way, that is grasped by a user's fingers, when the pen is used for writing.
Generally, when a person uses a pen for writing, the thumb and first two fingers of the writer's hand grasp the barrel of the pen behind the pen tip. A portion of the pen barrel rests on the skin of the hand between the uppermost joint of the index finger and the uppermost joint of the thumb. When a pen having such a barrel has a removable, friction-fitting cap, and the pen is to be used for writing, the removable cap is slid longitudinally over the back end of the pen and is retained on the pen by a friction fit. Because the pen barrel is sufficiently long, the removable cap is carried by the back end of the pen without contacting the skin of the hand between the uppermost joint of the index finger and the uppermost joint of the thumb.
Several problems, however, can arise from the use of conventional pens. If a person would like to carry a pen within a front pants pocket that spans articulated body parts (e.g. a lower portion of the abdomen and a thigh), there are a number of undesirable results that occur if the pen is oriented in a substantially vertical orientation inside the front pants pocket. For one thing, a long vertical bulging line may be visible from outside the front pocket. Such a bulging line may not be pleasing aesthetically to an observer. Also, when a person crouches down, by bending one's legs with respect to one's hips and abdomen, a long stiff pen in a vertical orientation inside the front pants pocket would make the crouching down uncomfortable. More specifically, when one crouches down, it is natural for the front pants pocket to be bent along the crease between the abdomen and the leg. If a long, vertical pen is inside a front pants pocket, such a pen may prevent the pocket from adequately bending along that crease. Also, when the wearer crouches down, an abnormally large amount of pressure may be exerted by the conventional pen on the inside surface of the pocket causing accelerated wear of the pocket, perhaps resulting in a hole being punched in the pocket. These problems would be exaggerated in case the pants fit the wearer tightly.
Moreover, a conventional pen having a removable, friction-fitting cap may very well exceed the vertical depth of a front pants pocket. Many front pants pockets are less deep than five inches. Such a pen would unaesthetically protrude from the pocket.
The conventional pen that is five inches long or longer is generally too long to fit into a front pants pocket in a horizontal orientation. This is so because many front pants pockets are considerably less in width than five inches. More specifically, the width of many front pants pockets is in a range of from three to four and one half inches.
If a five inch or longer pen having a removable, friction-fitting cap were placed in a vertical orientation in a rear pants pocket, another problem would occur. If a person bends down into a crouch, the pants generally tighten around the rounded surface of the wearer's rear end. The round profile of the person's rear end would be resisted by the straight vertical pen. This could cause discomfort, appear unaesthetic, and cause unwanted stress on the pocket, possibly resulting in a tear to the pocket.
And, as stated above with respect to the front pants pocket, the conventional pen that is five inches long or longer is generally too long to fit into a rear pants pocket in a horizontal orientation. This is so because many rear pants pockets are considerably less in width than five inches. More specifically, the width of many rear pants pockets is in a range of from three to four and one half inches.
Customarily, conventional pens that are five inches long or longer are worn in a vertical orientation in a breast shirt pocket or breast coat pocket. And customarily, these conventional pens are so long that they stick out the top of the breast shirt pocket or breast coat pocket. Aside from an unaesthetic appearance, another common problem associated with such pens is that the pen falls out of the pocket and onto the floor or ground when the person leans forward.
In sharp contrast, theoretically, a pen that could be retained in a breast shirt pocket or breast coat pocket in a horizontal orientation would fall, under gravity, to the bottom of the pocket. When a person would lean forward, the top of the breast shirt pocket or breast coat pocket, being free from interference by a pen that sticks out vertically from the top of the pocket, would tend to tighten and would tend to form a seal preventing the contents of the pocket from spilling out of the pocket. Thus, theoretically, a pen that would be retained horizontally in a breast shirt pocket or breast coat pocket would be virtually immune from falling out of the pocket if the person leans forward.
However, the conventional pen that is five inches long or longer is generally too long to fit into a breast shirt pocket or breast coat pocket in a horizontal orientation. This is so because many breast shirt pocket or breast coat pockets are considerably less in width than five inches. More specifically, the width of many breast shirt pockets or breast coat pockets is less than four and one half inches. It would be desirable, therefore, if a pen could be devised that could fit horizontally in a breast shirt pocket or breast coat pocket.
The conventional five inch or longer pen is also too long to be worn comfortably by the wearer when it is clipped onto a wearer's belt in front of the wearer. Such a long pen, when worn on a wearer's belt in front of the wearer, would interfere with the wearer's bending when the wearer's torso is bent with respect to the wearer's hips.
Many pants products are equipped with small, shallow watch pockets located near the top of a conventional pocket. A conventional five inch or longer pen is too long to fit comfortably into such a shallow pocket.
It is pointed out that an unaesthetic appearance of a conventional pen when retained in a vertical orientation in a pocket may be a significant deterrent to a person to carry such a pen in manner on one's person. Because of the undesirable appearance of such a conventional pen, a person may deprive oneself of the convenience and utility of having a pen readily available on one's person. When such a person would need a pen, the person may have to go hunting for a pen, especially when the person is away from one's home or office.